Study to Weigh Stormwater Management Option in Perkiomen Township

More from the Perkiomen Township Board of Supervisors meeting, Tuesday, Nov. 1:

• Township Manager Cecile Daniel relayed the message from Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors bulletin (PSATS) that the House of Representatives has raised the monetary limit for bid advertising.
According to current law, anything costing more than $4,000 must be advertised for bidding. If Gov. Tom Corbett signs the bill, the limit will be raised to $18,500. If something is less than $10,000, a township may purchase it. Anything costing between $10,000 and $18,500 must receive three quotes via telephone.

• Following a presentation, the board approved township Engineer Chuck Frantz doing a cost-analysis study, not to exceed $500, for a potential stormwater management plan for Centennial Street residents.
Christopher and Rebecca Lemieux and William and Lynn Rankin, of 374 and 376 Centennial Street, are experiencing trouble with stormwater collecting on Liberty Alley, which is bordered by several properties on either side, and then running down onto their properties. Liberty Alley dead-ends against the Centennial Street properties’ backyards.
The water, according to their presentation and to Frantz, is causing erosion. There is also a problem with standing water and flooding. Lemieux said he upgraded his sump pump to handle 6,000 gallons of water/hour, and it “still can’t keep up.”
Liberty Alley is a private road, so the township is not obligated to correct the issue. Solicitor Kenneth Picardi said he wasn’t sure of the exact property lines, but estimated that the properties along Liberty Alley also owned to “about the middle” of the alley behind their respective properties.
Picardi also told the homeowners they could find themselves limited if they wanted to take civil action against the properties lining Liberty Alley, because they were built before the Centennial Street homes (2005). It would be a different story if the problem were caused by the other homes’ construction, Picardi said.
Lynn Rankin said it was an “oversight” of the township to allow Centennial Street construction to continue “if you see that the stormwater is not properly draining.”
Picardi and Frantz said while the builder must meet township standards, it is the builder who is responsible for providing calculations on stormwater.
For now, Frantz will conduct a cost-analysis study for possibly dropping inlet at the end of Liberty Alley and running pipe around property and discharging wetlands area by Gravel Pike.

• Supervisors approved placing a “Hidden Driveway” sign in the vicinity of 145 Seitz Road. There is vertical curve in the roadway, and one of the homeowners has already been in crash due to another driver being surprised at the sight of a car in the driveway.

• The guide rail installation on Godshall Road Bridge was completed last Friday, and bridge has been opened.
The board approved the request for payment no. 3 for Flyway, in the amount of $211,559.32.

• Pending the receipt of a certificate of insurance, the board approved granting the Collegeville Rotary use of Perkiomen Township roads for the annual 5K in April 2012.